Gene Stallings Previews Alabama vs. Florida State [Audio]

Arguably the toughest game on Alabama’s schedule is days away as the Florida State Seminoles loom on the horizon.

Saturday’s contest will mark Nick Saban’s 11th season opener while Jimbo Fisher will coach in his eighth season opening game at Florida State.

A man who coached the Crimson Tide in seven season opening contests joined Wimp and Barry Sanderson to share his thoughts on Alabama vs. Florida State.

Gene Stallings won all but one season opener in seven seasons as the Crimson Tide’s head coach.

During his visit on Inside the Locker Room, Stallings analyzed a variety of topics concerning Saturday’s clash including the importance of Jalen Hurts as a playmaker coming into the game.

“You got a freshman quarterback who won 14 out of 15, lost the last game by one second. I’m telling you they’re not going to change very much. You win football games with football players not the schemes.” Stallings said.

Regarding new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s influence on Alabama’s offense, Stallings believes that Nick Saban’s vision for the offense and the ability of Hurts will have the most impact on what fans see Saturday night.

“Regardless of who’s called the coordinator, they’re going to do what Coach (Nick) Saban wants, and he’s going to do what the players can do and 14 out of 15 isn’t bad for a freshman quarterback.” Stallings said.

The former Alabama head football coach also provided a glimpse into the difficulty that an opponent like Florida State poses when it comes to the scout team’s role in game preparation.

“There is no way that Alabama can get ready for Florida State on the scout team.” Stallings said. “You can recognize formations and recognize plays that come off of it.”

Elaborating on his philosophy of game preparation, Stallings described his tendency to practice the best players against each other the closer it got to game day.

“I felt like that on a Wednesday the best you had needed to go against the best you had. That’s the way you get better. You don’t get better on the scout team, but very few teams do that now.” Stallings said.

After describing the pressure of coaching at Alabama and coaching at Texas A&M, Stallings reminded listeners of how Saban’s success in recruiting and coaching makes the Crimson Tide tough to beat.

“When you get good players and they are extremely well-coached, that’s a tough combination to beat.” Stallings mentioned.

Catch Inside the Locker Room every weekday from 7-9 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the radioPup app.